‘If the central government does not give rights to the people of Ladakh, then it won’t be good for our country.’
Ladakh shut down on Saturday, February 3, 2024, as thousands of people came out on the roads to demand Constitutional safeguards and 6th Schedule (external link) implementation in the state.
Ladakh has been simmering for long and Ladakhis are in no mood to give up on their demand from the central government just before general elections are due in the country.
With the central government silent on the demand for the 6th Schedule, Ladakhis are planning to intensify their protest.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com spoke to Cheering Dorjay Lakrook, a member of the Leh Apex Body, to understand why Ladakhis are so restive.
Why have the people of Ladakh come out in protest?
In Ladakh we have two districts. We are demanding statehood for Ladakh and want the 6th Schedule (that safeguards the rights of tribal populations) of the Constitution to be implemented in Ladakh. These are two of our major demands.
So the protest is only for these two demands?
No, we need something more, like we do not have a public service commission since Ladakh became a Union Territory on August 5, 2019, when Article 370 was repealed.
We want separate state employment for Ladakh and a separate cadre (like in other states). There has been no local recruitment in public service commission for more than four years and this is especially true for higher posts in government service.
We also want three parliamentary constituencies in the region: Ladakh, Leh and Kargil. These are the four demands that we want for Ladakh.
These demands are not new and you have been raising them for more than a year, but why we are we seeing such big numbers in your agitation now? What has changed?
The movement has caught on now because the government is going to go as general elections are going to be held in some months.
We have urgency now because once the election code of conduct comes into effect, then even if the government wants to give Ladakh special status they won't be able to do so.
We have been saying this from day one that our agitation will be intensified and we will soon announce a further plan of action for our agitation.
Does it mean the Ladakh bandh will continue?
Our show of strength on Saturday was to show (the government) that all of Ladakh's people are with us. There was a complete bandh in Ladakh and not a single shop was open for business.
Lakhs of people had assembled to demand our rights in Leh and we proved our show of strength.
Now, we will fast unto death in which many people will participate. And different means of protests will be added to intensify our struggle.
Last year award=winning educationist Sonam Wangchuk fasted for five days demanding the 6th Schedule for Ladakh but nothing happened.
Why will the fast unto death protest matter now? It looks like the government is not willing to concede your demands.
This is the precise reason we are intensifying our protests because our demands are not being met.
Jamyang Tsering Namgyal is the BJP MP from Ladakh. Is he not intervening to help?
We did support him in the past as it was in his election manifesto that Ladakh will be given 6th Schedule status. You wait and watch what is going to happen in the next general elections if our demands are not met.
How will life be different for an ordinary citizen of Ladakh once the 6th Schedule status is implemented?
When Ladakh was part of Jammu and Kashmir state we were being discriminated (in policies) and therefore we wanted to part ways with J&K state. This did happen after Article 370 was repealed, but when we look back we did have some benefits too as a part of J&K state.
For example, because of Article 370 and 35A our land in Ladakh was protected. Outsiders could not come and buy up land in Ladakh because of these two Constitutional provisions. Employment was secure in Ladakh district as no outsider could come and take away our jobs.
Since the time they repealed Article 370 we have no such protection. Therefore, we need the 6th Schedule of the Constitution to protect Ladakh from all these outside influences.
Moreover, the 6th Schedule has been provided in our Constitution to protect tribal populations. In the North East states where they have the 6th Schedule there are places with less than 50 percent of tribal population.
We have 97 percent of tribal population in Ladakh, but yet we are not getting benefits of the 6th Schedule.
Ladakh qualifies for the 6th Schedule and that is our main point. We have a huge area of 60,000 square km. We qualify for the 6th Schedule on all criteria and our demand needs to be met.
What has been the change in the lives of the people of Ladakh after Article 370 was abolished? Has there been an influx of outsiders who have bought land in Ladakh?
Ladakh's safeguard has gone after Article 370 was repealed. And this is specifically related in terms of employment.
When we were a part of Jammu and Kashmir state our children used to qualify as public service commission officers and be a part of that state officers list. Now since we have become a Union territory in August 2019 we do not have any public service commission. Not a single Ladakh citizen has been appointed to a gazetted post.
Are outsiders buying land in Ladakh now?
This problem will surely arise in the future as people from the rest of India are very rich compared to the local population of Ladakh. When they get good money the people of Ladakh will surely sell their land.
And what will they do after they sell their ancestral land? Nobody knows. Therefore, we need such protection under 6th Schedule of the Constitution.
Has anyone sold land to outsiders so far?
Many people have sold their land in Ladakh to outsiders. (Note: till last year the central government denied outsiders bought any land in Ladakh.) Moreover, we have barren state land in Ladakh on which if the local people won't have rights, outsiders will come and sit on that land.
Do you fear Ladakh's demographic change in the coming years?
Yes, we do fear. Our land area is huge. We have 60,000 square km land if you include Leh and Kargil. We have a population of 3 lakh only and if outsiders come in large numbers we locals will soon be in a minority.
Don't you think your protest is killing local tourism? Ladakh is a very popular tourist destination station for many Indians?
We did agitations earlier too during our demand for autonomous hill council days. At that time too tourism got affected and when such agitations happen tourism is obviously going to be affected.
One will have to endure the pain because this is a fight for our right to exist.
If tourists do not come for one year too, then people of Ladakh will have to go through difficult times. Moreover, a majority of people of Ladakh are not working in the tourism sector; mostly people work in the agriculture sector.
Don't you think other states will demand the 6th Schedule?
This demand cannot be made by the people of any other state. The Sixth Schedule provision has been made for scheduled tribeS with distinct culture and this criteria is not met by many states of India.
Moreover, Ladakh is a very important place which is strategically important for India's defence as we are close to China and Pakistan which are our hostile neighbours. Every now and then there is a problem happening with China on our borders.
Recently, you must have seen a viral video where Chinese soldiers entered Ladakh and were harassing our population. There was no Indo-Tibetan Border Police or Indian Army handling that situation and it was us who faced that harassment from Chinese soldiers.
If the central government does not give rights to the people of Ladakh, then it won't be good for our country too.
As far as I recall, when Article 370 was repealed people of Ladakh were very happy and were praising the Modi government.
Yes, we were happy after Article 370 was repealed as the demand for a Union Territory was an old one. But one has to remember, we had demanded a Union Territory with a legislature. We got a Union Territory without a legislature.
In 2019, when Article 370 was repealed, there was euphoria as we felt our demand for a Union territory was accepted, but we never realised then what were the shortcomings in this deal. We were dancing on the streets then, but after some months we realised Ladakh got nothing after repealing Article 370.
Nothing was in our hands or our control. All the decisions for Ladakh are being taken by bureaucrats. We do have two elected councils, but they do not have any power.
Ladakh has no legislative powers and both these councils come under a Union Territory. Therefore, the people of Ladakh are unhappy.
